The catamaran he and his crew were forced to abandon is now drifting towards the Caribbean Sea, as if determined to finish on its own the transatlantic record attempt that began with such high hopes more than two weeks ago.

It’s a source of deep frustration to Roy Finlay, 55, the skipper who spent two years designing and building the 40-foot vessel, as he continues to track its path thanks to the beacon he fitted to the deck.

The Scot called a halt to the Orca II challenge on December 16, just two days into the record bid, to save the life of a crew member, who was suffering kidney problems.

Roy Finlay, 55, called a halt to the Orca II challenge on December 16, just two days into the record bid, to save the life of a crew member, who was suffering kidney problems

Yet Mr Finlay, whose boat designs have won a string of world records, has found to his cost that mud sticks, no matter how unjust.

Eighteen years ago, during his first-ever attempt to set a new record for rowing the Atlantic, he was dubbed ‘Captain Calamity’ after he and his then crew had a spectacular fall-out.

That crossing had to be abandoned and he was accused of being ‘drunk’, ‘lazy’ and spending the night with a prostitute – all claims he has vehemently denied.

Share this article

Share

The infamous episode, however, attracted international media attention and lurid headlines, leading to the former Royal Navy diver’s reputation being damaged.

There have been many successes and further failures in between, but in the wake of his latest bid ending prematurely, he has faced a new storm of criticism and mockery which has cut so deep this time that he has decided to retire from ocean rowing for good.

Finlay with his fiancee and child. He spent two years designing and building a 40-foot vessel

Today, in a searingly honest interview with The Scottish Mail on Sunday, the father-of-three, originally from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, hits back at his critics and pays tribute to the bravery of his latest crew.

For the first time, he also reveals his true thoughts about the disastrous voyage of 1998 which has blighted his ocean racing career.

Now spending some unexpected family time with his German fiancée, Sandra, 40, and their daughter, Zuna, three, in her hometown of Haslach im Kinzigtal, in the Black Forest, he said: ‘As my days of actively rowing oceans are over, I can finally speak openly without fear of recrimination further damaging me.

‘It’s easy to criticise but anything can happen out there. Rowing the Atlantic isn’t like rowing down a river. I don’t mind criticism if it’s justified but to be called names is absolutely childish. I’m being portrayed as a national idiot, despite having 20 world records. But we collectively sacrificed the record attempt and our boat in favour of saving a man’s life. Why can’t a crew be credited for just doing the right thing?’

Roy Finlay and his crew onboard ORCA II in 2016. In the wake of his latest bid ending prematurely, he has faced a new storm of criticism and mockery which has cut so deep this time that he has decided to retire from ocean rowing for good

Initial reports claimed, incorrectly, ‘Captain Calamity’ had struck again, with Mr Finlay being the one who needed rescued because of kidney problems, not his crewmate. The crew were also branded ‘clowns’ for apparently leaving their passports behind on the abandoned catamaran.

He added: ‘I am not Captain Calamity and my crew are not a bunch of clowns who “forgot” their passports and were “stranded” in Spain. It really is pathetic stuff and I’m tired of the negativity.’

The crew had been hoping to raise money for charity and beat the world record for the fastest crossing from Africa to Barbados - set in 2011 by a six-man-crew aboard a boat designed by Mr Finlay - in a time of 31 days, 23 hours and 31 minutes.

They set out from Puerto de Mogan in Gran Canaria on December 14, but had to be rescued two days later when crewmate, George Ardavanis, developed kidney problems.

Mr Finlay in 1998. For the first time he has revealed his true thoughts about that disastrous voyage which has blighted his ocean racing career

Mr Finlay said: ‘Almost from the outset, George was visibly suffering from sea sickness, and his condition became worse. He was physically sick, a perfectly normal consequence of not being used to the sea and perhaps nerves, but by sunrise on the 16th, he was complaining of kidney pains.

‘I thought “that’s it”. I’m not a doctor and the only thing I could do was get him off the boat. I had a decision to make quickly and knew it would have serious consequences but if I’d carried on I could have been responsible for his death.

‘So far south, we were around the limits of rescue helicopter range. I could’ve put George on a passing ship but it might not have had the medical capabilities to look after him. Every single crew member was supportive of my decision.’

Within two hours of pressing the emergency beacon, which emits a satellite signal to Falmouth Coastguard, in Cornwall, who in turn informed the Spanish rescue services, a helicopter airlifted the 10-man crew to safety.

Concerns over weight restrictions and low fuel, however, meant the men were told to leave their belongings – including a bag with their passports inside – behind on the vessel.

His first ocean crossing was in 1988 as one of a crew of four and which took 35 days, but it is his first record bid as a skipper, on the now notorious Atlantic Endeavour trip of 1998, which still haunts him to this day

‘As it transpired, the decision was the right one,’ added Mr Finlay, ‘I think we landed with fumes.’

After a brief spell in hospital in Gran Canaria, Mr Ardavanis recovered and returned to the UK, as did the remainder of the crew.

But Mr Finlay is furious at the backlash, particularly the lack of compassion from those with little understanding of what it takes to cross one of the world’s great oceans.

He said: ‘This crew didn’t deserve any of this. They are probably the best crew I’ve ever worked with. This voyage was two years in the planning, everyone was raring to get the job done.

‘George was upset and we were upset that it was all over but fortunately there’s no long-term damage to his health and that’s all that matters.

‘Before this medical emergency, I was sure we’d do well. We got the weather forecast correct and everything had been going well as we steered the boat in heavy seas.’

He added: ‘More people have climbed Everest than have rowed the Atlantic. I tell all my crews the most important step they will take is the one from the pier to that boat - because they might not be coming back.

His rowing days may be over but his wish now is to see the crew of Orca II, who were raising funds for charity Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis, given the chance to have a second attempt at the record - with a new skipper

‘It’s physically demanding, cold and wet. It destroys you mentally and can leave you demoralised. There is sleep deprivation and fear - especially during the hours of darkness. You have to be fully alert for the waves coming in from different angles, some 30 feet high. If you aren’t paying attention you will get rolled. Some waves come over the entire boat and you are drenched multiple times. You row two hours on and two hours off throughout the night, one hour on and one hour off during the day, and sleep in claustrophobic conditions. There is no getting used to it, every crossing is different.

‘It’s not about what goes wrong, it’s about putting it right. It’s a fair fight you might win, you might lose. What’s not fair is when someone tries to achieve something, only to face constant negativity.

‘It’s great encouragement for our up and coming generation of youngsters, whose most dangerous attempts at anything in this “cotton wool society” will amount to crossing the street, isn’t it? Why should they bother sticking their necks out if they are to face ridicule? It completely sends out the wrong message.

‘As a result, I’ve decided to remove myself from further public humiliation. I’ve promised my fiancee that that is it.’

The couple, who have been together six years, live in a 300-year-old farmhouse on the Spanish island of Majorca, where Mr Finlay, founder of The Ocean Rowing Club of the Atlantic (O.R.C.A), runs his boat design business – the culmination of a life of sea-going which began at the age of four, sailing aboard his family’s yacht.

Most of his career in the Royal Navy was spent with HMS Brinton as a diver in the mine counter measures squadron.

He bought his first boat, aged 22, a 23-foot yacht which he moored at the Royal Gourock Yacht club, on the Clyde, and cruised the west coast of Scotland, often solo.

His first ocean crossing was in 1988 as one of a crew of four and which took 35 days, but it is his first record bid as a skipper, on the now notorious Atlantic Endeavour trip of 1998, which still haunts him to this day.

Sixteen days after setting off from the Canaries, he and his crew were forced to dock in the Cape Verde islands, 700 miles off the west coast of Africa, for urgent generator repairs.

By then, the record was out of reach, morale had deteriorated, and his crew of 16 accused him of drinking and laziness, as well as entertaining a prostitute on their boat – claims he insisted at the time they maliciously concocted.

He, in turn, accused them of lacking the stomach for the voyage.

‘I’ve lived with this for nearly 20 years,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It’s not only affected my ocean rowing business but socially too. I’ve never been able to defend myself because of my business but it was all lies designed to destroy my life by a bunch of people who acted like they were on a Sunday school outing.

‘The truth is that by the time we got to Cape Verde, I was glad we had generator problems so we could pull in. Their behaviour was terrible. There was persistent squabbling among them. I should’ve selected the crew more carefully. Every day there was something. One guy actually hit another for whistling. There was bad feeling on board and when all the allegations were made against me, it had built up into something I just didn’t recognise.’

He added: ‘After we docked, everyone went ashore for a few drinks. By the time I got back to the boat, there were women there who couldn’t return to shore because they’d missed the last water taxi. They were not prostitutes. One I learned later was the chief of police’s daughter. They stayed overnight on the boat and left in the morning. It’s total fabrication to claim I spent the night with a prostitute and jeopardised the record attempt.

‘Ever since, I’ve been unfairly branded the drunken, lazy, prostitute-seeking Captain Calamity. After their allegations, I lost everything. I lost the boat, I lost my business, I ended up in hospital because of a breakdown, not to mention the embarrassment it caused my family. It took years to overcome.’

Thanks to a dogged determination, however, he did bounce back. Successfully crossing the Atlantic in 2007 as part of a team of four in a multi-hull vessel ‘Orca’ he designed himself, they missed the world record by just one day.

‘I knew the attempt had to be a success. I knew if I screwed up in any way, I’d be Captain Calamity again. Seeing the lights of Barbados, there was a tear in my eye,’ he recalled.

But highs and lows go hand in hand with transatlantic racing, a sport which has also claimed a number of vessels skippered by Mr Finlay’s competitors in recent years and which now lie broken on the seabed.

A further attempt by him, this time in ‘Barracuda’ in November 2013, ended three days in, after a freak wave hit the craft, causing damage beyond repair. Mr Finlay and his crew had to be rescued by helicopter and returned to Gran Canaria.

‘There’s no guide book for this,’ he says. ‘There’s no such thing as a perfect crossing and like any extreme sport, there’s an element of danger.

‘But neither is it about ego, it’s about design and the fastest boat and getting the record. Better to try and fail in my opinion than to have never tried at all.’

His rowing days may be over but his wish now is to see the crew of Orca II, who were raising funds for charity Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis, given the chance to have a second attempt at the record - with a new skipper.

Suddenly showing a flash of that old spirit of adventure, he adds: ‘I would love to design and build a boat for them. I would love to see them get a new sponsor and get the world record. They were such a wonderful crew, they deserve it. That would be a nice ending for me.’